Conveyors for food products often comprise a frame, a conveyor platform, a motor, and an endless conveyor belt. The motor pulls the conveyor belt across the top of the platform to transport the food products. The belt then turns below the platform to drop the food products and return to the other end of the platform. Because it is important that the food be free of excess grease, dirt and crumbs, the conveyor belt and conveyor platform have holes to permit debris to fall through the endless conveyor belt and the platform and into a collection pan under the frame.
Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2, one type of prior conveyor support apparatus 10 was constructed with angle irons 14 and 16 along the length of a conveyor frame 18 and a single flat central bar 22 of metal down the center of the conveyor frame 18. Ribs 30 of sheet metal were welded to the angle irons 14 and 16 and the central bar 22 in a herringbone pattern. The angle irons 14 and 16, central bar 22 and ribs 30 formed a conveyor platform to support a conveyor belt 26 as it moved down the length of the conveyor apparatus 10. Sideboards 34 and 36 were mounted directly above the edges of the conveyor belt 26 to keep the food on the belt. Cross supports 40 of channel iron or angle iron beneath the conveyor platform braced the frame 18.
Unfortunately, the prior apparatus shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 has several problems. For instance, the central bar 22 caused a "dead" spot along the center of the conveyor belt, and the horizontal flanges of the angle irons 14 and 16 caused "dead" spots along the edges of the belt. This resulted in uneven wear along the bottom of the conveyor belt and premature destruction of the conveyor belt.
The "dead" spots and the joints between the sheet metal ribs 30 and the central bar 22 and angle irons 14 and 16 were often easily filled with debris and grease and were difficult to clean. The parallelogram-shaped holes in the herringbone pattern of the conveyor platform permitted food and debris to fall through the conveyor belt 26 and the platform onto the flat faces of the cross supports 40. Accumulation of food and debris presented a significant sanitation problem.
This prior type of conveyor was also difficult if not impossible to clean. The overhead sideboards 34 and 36 and the vertical flanges of the angle irons 14 and 16 prevented food from falling off the edges of the conveyor belt but also made it difficult or impossible for workers to reach under the edges of the belt 26 and to clean the angle irons 14 and 16, the ribs 30, and the joints. Obviously, inability to clean any surfaces cannot be tolerated in a food processing environment.
The many welds made to join the sheet metal ribs 30, the central bar 22 and angle irons 14 and 16 had to be polished to prevent the belt from becoming stuck on the jagged edges and to eliminate sanitation problem areas. The platform was therefore difficult and costly to manufacture. Thus, there were many significant sanitation problems with the prior conveyor apparatus platforms.